


Dinner.

by EmmyGreene



Series: Little Things. [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Cute, Dinner, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 05:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9975515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmyGreene/pseuds/EmmyGreene
Summary: Beth joins Daryl for dinner with Aaron and Eric.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this to fit into a larger series so Beth might seem a little OOC for this universe though I've tried to tweak it to make it fit. Also about 3x the length of everything else in this series :/
> 
> Comments are always appreciated :)

It wasn't a date. Did she want it to be a date? She had no idea where she stood with Daryl except each night she’d sit outside until the house fell silent then she’d creep in to sleep next to him.

He told her Aaron and Eric insist they meet her, properly and maybe they were just being noisy but they’re nice people and... She realised Daryl was nervous she’d say no. True, she hadn’t been very social since they’d arrived here but a week of decent sleeping had changed her outlook a little and she’d been making an effort to be the girl she was again. She’d decided to go, washed her hair and spent thirty minutes blow drying it, just like she used to before a date. But it’s not a date she reminded herself. Daryl was knocking on the bathroom door, time to go.

She looked at Daryl, showered and clean and, honestly, very good looking. She didn't know when she started seeing him that way, sometime at the prison perhaps, but whenever he was clean she was taken aback by how nice he looked.  
'You look clean' she told him, making it obvious she was looking him up and down   
'Cleanliness is next to godliness' he said  
She pulled a face   
'My grandmother said that' she said   
'Yeah and your father, that's where I heard it' he said   
She nodded to the stairs   
'Shall we?'   
'Hmmm'   
She was used to him, knew a grunt sufficed for an actual answer.  
They walked silently through their house, Carol waved goodbye from the kitchen, Rick looked up from reading to Judith and smiled at them, then out into the street. They didn't speak until they reached Aaron and Eric's front steps   
'Daryl' she said, grabbing his wrist   
'You ok?' He asked, a look of concern on his face   
'I'm kind of nervous' she said   
He shook his head   
'Don't be, they're good people'   
'You sure they want me here'   
He did that nod and squint that she found oddly endearing.   
'We talked about it out there. It was one of those 'if we make it out of here, I'm having you and Beth over for dinner' things.  
'Me?' she questioned.  
'Yeah, we'd been talking about you'   
'Oh'   
With that Eric threw the door open.   
'So are you two coming in or are you just going to stand on the street all evening?'  
Daryl shook his wrist out of her clutches and headed up the stairs. Beth quickly followed behind him  
Eric stopped her and kissed her on both cheeks   
'Welcome to our home, we're so glad you could join us'   
'Thanks for inviting me' Beth smiled up at her host   
They followed Eric through to the kitchen where Aaron was pouring drinks   
'Hey, we've got bourbon, whiskey, champagne, red, Beth I know you aren't 21 but'   
'I don't think those rules apply anymore' she cut in   
'She's only ever had moonshine though' Daryl cut in   
Eric popped the lid off the champagne  
'Well I'm having bubbles, join me?' He asked Beth  
She nodded   
'Sure'   
Aaron poured himself a red and Daryl a bourbon   
'Cheers' he said holding the glass up and they all joined him   
They moved over to the dining table   
'So Beth, you spend your days looking after Rick's baby right?' Eric asked her   
'Yeah, Judith. I've been looking after her since she was born.'  
'She's so cute' Aaron added 'you do a great job with her'  
'Well it's a team effort' Beth replied 'Daryl actually gave her her first ever bottle'   
'Oh really? I did not see you as a manny' Eric cut in   
'Manny?' Beth asked   
'Male nanny' he explained  
Daryl turned a little red  
'More like lots of extra uncles and aunts' she said   
'And you two met at your fathers farm right?' He asked   
She nodded   
'And then lived at the prison?'   
'Is this an interrogation?' Daryl asked   
'No, no it's just nice to actually talk to her, not about her' Aaron said, topping up his drink and Daryl's   
'You talk about me?' Beth asked playfully   
'Daryl's just been filling me in on how you all came to be on that road' Aaron said and Eric shot him a look then spoke  
'But we don't want to talk about anything serious like that tonight' he said pointedly at Aaron 'we'd just like to get to know you'   
She blushed and shrugged   
'There's not much to know'   
'Well Daryl says you're a great singer' Aaron said   
'Oh really' she smirked at Daryl 'I'm pretty sure my singing annoys him'.   
'It's better than nothing' he said   
An alarm beeped from the oven   
'Beth, come help me plate up?' Eric asked   
She nodded and got up, leaving Daryl at the table with Aaron.   
  
He pulled a lasagne tray out of the oven and nodded his head to a drawer   
'Can you  pull out some plates please'  
She nodded and laid them out so he could ladle out the food   
'So what's the deal with you and Daryl anyway?' He asked   
'Ooh' she drew in a breath 'we're not really... We're just... I don't know, we're not a couple or anything'   
He nodded   
'But you guys obviously thought we were or you wouldn't have invited me'   
He shook his head  
' I know Daryl enough to know he wouldn't have anything as conventional as a girlfriend.. But when we asked him who in the group he was close to, your name came up'  
She twirled some of her hair around unsure where to look as he scooped salad from a larger bowl into the sides of the plates  
'He's close with a few people, Rick, Carol'   
'But not like with you’ Eric pressed  
She shrugged again  
'We were on our own for a while. Not even that long really, but it changed everything. And he was the one who came looking for me, at the hospital. I guess I'm the ones who's close to him, especially since I've been shutting my sister out' Beth stood up   
'Sorry, that's kind of a lot, for someone I hardly know'   
He shook his head 'I'm the one who asked' he picked up two plates and she followed his lead bringing the other two behind him for Daryl and herself.   
In the dining room the drinks had all been refilled again and although Beth could feel herself getting tipsy she took another sip as soon as she sat down.   
'You better watch yourself' Daryl said to her then turned back to Aaron 'she'll trick you into thinking she's a happy drunk but she's not'   
'Eric's the one you've really got to watch... It's a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde routine, too many drinks and he might as well be an old man telling those kids to get of me his lawn' Aaron spoke up  
'One time, one time.' Eric explained, dramatically rolling his eyes for effect ' it was out first 4th of July together and we were hosting a barbecue but I'd just laid down new turf... Well I had a few too many cocktails and by the end of the day I Just sat on the steps screaming at anyone who set foot on the grass' he said then added 'I haven't touched Midori or coconut cream since.. It was not pretty on the way back up'   
'Just what we want to hear as we're about to eat' Aaron said but he touched his hand gently on Eric's before lifting his fork to eat.   
There was mostly silence as everyone ate dinner, Beth finished her glass and felt like her head was spinning but at the same time she felt, happy. Not just content but truly happy to be where she was. She looked up at Daryl and smiled and he smiled back at her briefly before asking   
'What's gotten into you?'   
'Just happy' she replied   
'Just tipsy' he countered.   
'Have another?' Eric asked Beth, ‘we may as well finish the bottle’  
'Sure' she replied   
They resumed eating but she moved her leg beneath the table to rest against Daryl and he didn't pull away   
Aaron got up to clear the table   
'I'm just putting dessert in the oven now. I hope you like apple pie'   
'Everything's apple here' said Eric   
'Apples fine' said Daryl   
Aaron reappeared holding a bottle of red wine   
'I'll try some' Beth volunteered.  
Daryl shot her a look 'be careful, mixing drinks, red wine don't agree with everyone' he warned   
Aaron poured out a glass each and Beth sipped hers   
'Well... It ain't no moonshine' she said  
'I wouldn't know' Aaron commented   
Daryl grunted 'we gotta change that'   
'Sure' said Eric 'next time you're cooking, we'll have road kill and moonshine'   
'And pig hooves' Beth cut in, 'They're a real red neck delicacy'   
'Where are we holding this little shindig?' Eric asked   
'That empty car park at the back of course... I'll find some old crates to use for chairs, maybe a card table to eat off' Beth continued   
'You a redneck now too?' Daryl asked her   
'No but I've spent a lot of time with one these past few years'   
'Then you've put up with some pretty bad table manners' Eric added with a wink   
Beth nodded 'but he does have very nice arms' at this Beth and Daryl both blushed   
'Wow, that champagne has gone straight to my head.. Where's the bathroom?'   
Aaron got up to show her and Daryl sat at the table, cheeks burning so Eric took that chance to add   
'She's right. You do have very nice arms'   
'Be nice' Aaron said sitting back down.   
They sat there in silence for a few moments before Aaron looked up at Daryl with a grin.  
'I like her. She's not what I expected at all'   
'I like her too' Eric added  
'Well that's good to hear' said Beth re-entering the room  
Eric looked up at her   
' I don't think I'd heard you speak before tonight. Thought you might be a man of few words, like Daryl here, thought Aaron and I might have been doing most of the talking this evening but you're a delightful guest' he said  
She blushed again  
'Thanks, I guess '   
the oven sounded again and the two hosts left to go grab the pie   
'You alright?' Beth asked Daryl  
He nodded   
'You?'   
She smiled back 'sure, I'm fine'   
She took another sip from her glass  
'Best watch yourself, I'm not looking after you if you make yourself sick'   
'I'm fine' she assured him   
Eric sat a place of pie in front of them both   
'Sorry there's no ice cream to go with it' he said before taking his seat.   
'So you two were together before all this?' Beth said and that's all it took to start Eric off in a very animated re-telling of how they met and fell in love. For her part she sighed and oohed at all the right parts of the story. She'd always liked hearing love stories.   
'You gonna get married?' She asked   
'One day, we'd like too' Eric replied   
'But I'm not sure Alexandria is ready for that' added Aaron   
'Screw em' said Daryl and they all raised a glass to that.   
  
Beth helped with the dishes and by that stage she was well and truly wobbly on her feet   
'I best get you home while you can still walk Miss Greene' Daryl said watching her zigzag across the kitchen   
'Thanks for dinner' he said to Aaron and Eric, they got up and walked their guests to the door.   
'Beth, don't be a stranger, even if you're not ready for everyone, you can come visit us' Eric said   
She smiled and thanked him before stumbling down the steps.


End file.
